Knitting for Nieces

I finished this cute little bag one day before my nieces birthday. Unfortunately I forgot to have her "pose" with her bag, but nonetheless, here it is:

Katelyn's Church Bag

Pattern: Rick Rack Purse by Susan Lawrence
Pattern Source: Knit Picks
Yarn: (2) skeins Lion Brand Lion Wool Solid in Dark Teal; (1) skein Lion Brand Lion Wool Prints in Ocean Blue
Needles: (2) Clover Takumi Bamboo 24" circular needles size 10 1/2 US

I've knit this pattern once before, but I appreciated the brilliance of it more the second time around. The knitted edge around the base of the bag is simple to do, but is ideal for adding a bit of extra stability to the base of the bag. There's also a section at the top of the bag where you add purl bumps that identify where to knit and attach the I-cord handles. The designer thought of everything. If you're looking for a great felted bag for either yourself or a young girl, I give this one a huge thumbs up!

I did a bit of stash enhancement the last few days. I placed an order with Knit Picks for needles and skeins of their new sock yarn, Felici, and Risata. I also lucked out on a closeout sale of Artyarns Supermerino at Yarn4Socks.com and then helped Lain with her de-stash by purchasing some sock yarn and and such too. I've been itching to also get some yarn at Blue Moon Fiber Arts, but I'm having a horrible time deciding between all the new colors they just released. Thankfully The Loopy Ewe hasn't updated recently (as of this writing), otherwise I'd really be broke!

And just in case you're wondering, the sock design classes I took from Cookie yesterday were absolutely wonderful, and I'll try to get a post written up in the next day or two.

Monday Mish Mash

For those of you who live under the rock next door to my rock, you've got to check out Ravelry . For those of you who have an invite left .. can you please invite me? I'm DYING to try this out since I'm an anal-retentive organizing nut and this looks like it's right up my alley! I don't know if I'm patient enough to wait for it's full release.

Although I have no socks on the needles and haven't had for a week (gasp), I've signed up for the Summer of Socks 2007 KAL. I've thankfully fulfilled my SAM 3 KAL requirements for May and have forbid myself to cast-on for another pair of socks until I finish the Debbie Bliss Matinee Coat for my new neice Molly. You would think this would be HUGE motivation for a sock fiend like me, but even though this was off the needles and blocking last month, so far I've only managed to seam it. To officially complete it, I still need to knit the edging around the neckline and then put it in the mail to my sister. Thank goodness it's knit for a 6 month old!

And if having one project on the needles for a neice wasn't enough, I'm also working on a purse for my eldest neices birthday. I've knit this bag once before for another neice and this neice saw it and said she *had* to have one too. This has been a really quick knit and all I have left are the i-cord handles and felting. She'll be visiting me the last week of this month, a few days after her birthday, so it will be fun to give her this in person instead of sending it off in the mail.

The VLT shawl (which looks like a blog) is still in progress and I think I'm on track to have it complete by my mother-in-laws birthday next month. I'm not sure I'm going to use the edging shown in the book, but I'm not sure what else would look nice. Any suggestions?

For those of you who love podcasts and/or love scrapbooking, you absolutely must check out my friend Lain's ScrapHappy Podcast. Currently, I'm not into making scrapbooks (which is the main focus of this podcast), but I just love that her podcast. Last episode she was stating that if a scrapbooking tool doesn't have mutliple uses, she doesn't keep it around, so she had taken her ribbon straightening iron into her bathroom to see if it would also straighten her hair! Her last 4 podcasts are all in the 15-20 minute range, so if you want a treat, go subscribe. Oh, and if you do.. please tell her I sent you.

Belated FO

I should've posted about this at the end of December, or at least January, but it slipped through the cracks! This project was finished the 2nd week of December but deserves its own post, so I'd like to introduce.....

SUNDAY PURSE FOR GIRLS

Pattern: Rick Rack Purse by Susan Lawrence

Pattern Source: KnitPicks Patterns

Yarn: Cascade 220 in purple hyacinth (body); Cascade Quatro in malta (trim)

Needles: Clover Bamboo 24" circular size 10 1/2 US

Notes: Early last year my neice (pictured) asked me to knit her a bag for her birthday that she could put her scriptures in. I thought this request was interesting and ironic, (but only those of you who know my past will understand why). My little sister and I scoured the internet to find something that might work and when we ran across this pattern, we crossed our fingers and I purchased it. The pattern was clearly written, clever, and a quick knit. Since almost everyone I know has knit with Cascade 220, I don't have to tell you how good it is. The base of the purse is sturdy, but I added some plastic canvas for extra stiffness since the scriptures being held weigh about 3 pounds. It worked out perfectly! The only thing that would've made this better, would be a lining with a small zippered pocket to hold some paper and a pencil. Otherwise, it's perfect!

In CURRENT knitting news, Pomatomus are blocking, I've started Zephyr Socks, and at Karen's request, I've included a photo of my Clapotis in progress. The colorway is so not "me", but I'm actually starting to like it. I remarked to DH last night that I had nothing in my wardrobe that would match this (since he picked out the yarn). I fully expected him to give me one of those "looks", but instead he said, "I guess I'll have to buy you something". Did I marry the perfect man or what?